Your Turn: June 18

Updated 5:33 pm, Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Photo: Mark Duncan / Associated Press

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Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) tosses a ball during a mandatory minicamp practice at the NFL football team's facility in Berea, Ohio. A reader points out that, historically speaking, Manziel is not alone when it comes to athletes who enjoyed having a good time. less

Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) tosses a ball during a mandatory minicamp practice at the NFL football team's facility in Berea, Ohio. A reader points out that, historically speaking, Manziel ... more

In 2012, a 19-year-old kid came out of nowhere and electrified the football world. Since then, Johnny Manziel's sports career and personal life have been under scrutiny by the media with insinuations of erratic behavior.

Almost a century earlier, another 19-year-old kid, George Herman Ruth, came out of nowhere to become the greatest baseball player ever, although he had periodic batting slumps and record strikeouts.

Many sportswriters made a good living covering his every move, writing volumes to explain his innate athletic ability to hit baseballs farther and more frequently than anyone else.

Ruth often caroused into the morning hours, even before game days.

He was a married man, notorious as a womanizer and a heavy drinker. He picked fights with opposing players and umpires, and often chased fans into the stands who insulted him.

Compared to Babe Ruth, Johnny Manziel seems more like an angelic choirboy.

My tax dollars helped pay for the new Loop 1604/U.S. 281 exchange, but I will never use it. My tax dollars pay for continual improvements at the San Antonio International Airport, but many San Antonians never use that, either. The list goes on and on.

A great city is not composed of one area getting all the money and attention. The need is spread around. San Antonio has the largest tourist market in Texas. To ignore that fact is bullheaded.

The intense residential and commercial development now going on between the Museum Reach and Southtown is a prime example of how urban needs for services must be continually addressed.

Will the streetcar slow down traffic on Broadway? Perhaps.

Will I also leave my car at home when I am offered an alternative choice for clean, efficient and modern public transportation? Absolutely.